Thompson Valley girls lacrosse hopes to fly together

Team cohesiveness gives TV great potential

The Thompson Valley High School girl's lacrosse team is hoping that better team cohesiveness equates to great postseason success this spring.
(Liz Melahn)

The last thing a lot of coaches want to do before a season is place lofty expectations on their team.

Thompson Valley High School girl's lacrosse coach Liz Melahn, however, didn't shy away from that when given the chance.

"In my mind these kids -- if they stay focused and if they work hard and continue to work together like I know that they can -- realistically I think they can go all the way," the coach said of this year's Eagles, who begin the program's fifth season Thursday at ThunderRidge. "They are dangerous when it comes to teamwork."

Winning a state title would be a giant leap from last year's second-round playoff exit. But it's not like Melahn's forecast is coming out of nowhere. Along with their improved balance throughout and plenty of returning experience, the fourth-year coach believes her team's chemistry is the mark of something special.

"If you look at how Air Academy played Cherry Creek last year in the state finals, Air Academy had a lot more team effort going on and Creek had a lot of players that were very good but didn't really play together. And our kids right now are playing together," Melahn continued. "If they keep their heads down and work, and keep their heads up in games and continue to focus, this year and next year are going to be really good years for us.

"It's hard to know sometimes what other teams have, but this is the best team I've ever put on the field."

The squad lost a pair of key contributors in volume scorer Maggie Mawhinney, who is now playing at Southern California, and goalie Molly Reger, who opted not to play her senior year. But the team is banking on its overall talent and a greater commitment level to make up for those losses.

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"I feel like this year we're more focused, and we have more veterans on the team," midfielder Alyssa McGownd said. "And I feel with more experience, people are taking it more seriously."

A large group of juniors makes up the core of the team, a crop that has played for Melahn since middle school. That includes leading returning goal-scorer Madie Creech, Hannah Payton, Sarah Emery and Dana Olsen in the middle, along with defenders Dani Cox and Mackie Stuart.

"We have what I would prefer, which is everybody can play and everybody can pass and catch. Everybody can do all the things, so that makes it really cohesive when you're talking about the juniors," the coach said. "These kids have been in the system for three years, and the seniors four years now, so they get what's going on."

After last week's tryouts, Melahn decided to go with just 16 players on the varsity roster to start off, down from 23 a season ago. Less will actually be more, though, says McGownd.

"I think it will allow us to mesh more," said McGownd, a senior at Loveland. "We'll be able to make connections with everybody on the team, and not just certain people."

For a co-op team that draws from all over Northern Colorado, it might seem odd that one of the Eagles' biggest strengths is their chemistry. But because players do mostly only see each other on the field, that actually helps form a stronger bond.

"It helps being from different schools because lacrosse is really the only time we see each other," said Payton, a junior defensive midfield who also attends Loveland. "So we have a ton of fun during practices, but we're still at the same time taking it very seriously and we're very determined."